Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.20.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:LOB opened at $31.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.57. Live Oak Bancshares has a twelve month low of $22.68 and a twelve month high of $42.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 1.97.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.39. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $161.86 million for the quarter.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Live Oak Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 5.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Gregory W. Seward sold 3,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.70, for a total transaction of $110,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 113,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,349.90. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Courtney Spencer sold 9,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.01, for a total transaction of $378,397.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,491.60. This represents a 27.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,412 shares of company stock valued at $660,862. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Oak Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,253,000 after purchasing an additional 24,664 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 61.8% in the second quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 90,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 34,424 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 53.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 153,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after purchasing an additional 53,427 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 7,761.4% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 103,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,577,000 after buying an additional 101,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 937,663.2% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 178,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,184,000 after buying an additional 178,156 shares during the last quarter. 63.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, and operates through its subsidiary Live Oak Banking Company. Founded in 2008, the company leverages a branchless, technology-driven platform to deliver specialty lending and deposit products across the United States. Live Oak Bancshares completed its initial public offering in February 2018 and trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol LOB.

The company’s primary focus is on originating and servicing commercial loans for small businesses in select industry verticals.